What a week!

Wow, what a week we've had!  Everything started out nice and normal on Monday until my mom called.  This may not see out of the ordinary but it was actually my dad's number on caller id but my mom on the other end..."it's nothing major, but..." never the words you want to hear. My dad was in the emergency room in Henderson with chest pains. Of course I'm going to worry, he's my deddy and he doesn't get sick-ever.  They evaluated him, ran an EKG, put him on a heart monitor and eventually transported him to Rex Hospital in Raleigh that evening for more observation.  His doctor saw him Tuesday morning and ordered a catherization for Wednesday morning.  So Emily and I hopped in the car and crossed the county lines for the first time to go visit him. We needed to see for ourselves that he was alright and cheer him up a little.  Sitting in a hospital bed is NO fun, I've been there a time or two so i figured the distraction would be welcome. Just look at that grin on his face!  Then they just chilled out together.

I can't believe i attempted such a big trip by myself for the first time but we made it and she did great.  GiGi was glad to see her too! (how is it that she always looks at the camera when she's holding her?!?!)

We were a little late leaving b/c she had another episode of spitting up that had some mucousy blood in it that morning so we had to wait to hear what her doctor wanted to do since this was the second time it had happened.  We ended up seeing the doctor yesterday and she ordered an upper GI test to be done today. Yes, on a newborn.  They wanted to make sure there wasn't anything going on with her intestines, esophagus or stomach that was causing the spitting up. 

But Poppa was our main concern so we went to see him again.  He was taken to the cath lab just as we were getting there so we missed him but got to see him when he got back.  Everything went fine and he only had to have 1 stint put into an artery that was 80% blocked.  They had to go in through his leg instead of through his wrist but that's ok b/c now he's so much better.  We're so thankful for all the prayers that were answered that it wasn't something bigger and he needed bypass surgery.  Go God!  He's home now but of course we're going to make sure he does what the doctor says and gets better quick.  Emily is a great nurse!

So we went to get her GI test done this morning and she did much better than her nervous mom. This was right after she ate at 7am, so precious. She couldn't have anything for 3 hours before the test at 10am. She usually eats sooner than that and i knew that if she didn't sleep through those 3 hours it was not going to be pretty. So i loaded her in the car and we went for a drive to put her to sleep. It worked b/c we had to wake her up to have it done.

She had to drink barium (which looked disgusting) while they were taking the images and we were able to be with her the whole time.  The radiologist didn't see anything abnormal so that was good news too!  Go God!  Not sure what the next step will be (acid blocker or just let her grow out of it) but we'll be ok.

In other big news, she's been sleeping in her crib at night!  Blaine put her down Monday night after we wrapped her/swaddled her in the halo sleep sack (b/c we can't put a blanket on her this is sort of like a sleeping bag with arm holes).  She didn't sleep quite as well as she did in the little bassinet that she was sleeping in but that's ok.

She did a little better the next night, and was back to her usual 5-5.5 hrs of sleeping last night (thankfully).  Now when we go to Henderson this weekend and she sleeps in the bassinet she'll be all messed up but we'll get back on track :)  We've gotten in a good routine of giving her a bath, then a bottle then rocking her to sleep.  Seems to be working. 

So we've had an exciting week.  The most important thing to remember is that God is in charge. We are so blessed to have family, friends and churches that prayed for my dad during this week and He answered them.  Prayer works friends. God is so good.  He will continue to bless those that are faithful to Him and there aren't enough thank yous that can show my grattitude for what He's done in my life.  I have a beautiful and healthy daughter, a handsome and loving husband, and family that means everything to me b/c of God's generous grace.  I will never take that for granted, I thank Him everyday!  Go God!!!

One month old today!

It's hard to believe that our baby girl is already 1 month old!  These past 4 weeks have really flown by. Everyday we get to watch Emily grow and develop. She's making "aaahhh" noises now (which is a relief from the crying), she's more alert and we're on the verge of getting smiles and laughs from her.  She especially likes when we kiss her tummy or neck (and when my hair gets in her face)!  She can hold her head up better and even likes to sit on Blaine's lap...of course always focused on her friend fanny (the ceiling fan).

She still pretty much hates tummy time though.  She will lay on her playmat fine for a good while and when I turn her over she does really good for about 1 minute then starts to fuss. I even tried propping her on the boppy but she was already mad at me and didn't like that either.  She'll really pull her head up when she's laying on your chest.

She's has basically grown out of her newborn clothes. We tried to put a sleeper on her just last night and it was a little snug for our piglet!  So we've moved to the 3 month section of her closet.  Some of the things are still a little big but this adorable ballerina sleeper was just too cute.

Notice the little characters on the changing pad under her bottom? Well those were one of the best purchases that I didn't even know we needed. They're these waterproof pads that we put on top of the changing pad (although it's waterproof too underneath the cover) and it's a good thing b/c for some reason she likes to pee AFTER we've taken off her diaper.  Usually it only gets on this little pad and not the whole cover so I don't have to wash it everyday but it does usually get on her clothes which we then have to change! 

She is still a little fussy in the evenings...I'm convinced it's acid reflux b/c of the way she's acting and I feel so bad for her.  We're trying gripe water and it's helping but not curing it.  We keep burp cloths handy everywhere in the house. 

She's also discovered the paci. They're so big in her mouth though that she looks like Maggie from the Simpson's!  She isn't really able to keep a hold of it so we have to help her. Lately she's been pretty content with it though so that's good. Here's Blaine helping her keep it in (what a sweet picture).

Today we made it to Sunday School and worship service at church. I didn't get a picture of her cute outfit before Blaine changed it but this one I thought was equally as cute. Plus we had to change into our play clothes b/c we walked over to Kelli's (Blaine's sister's) house so that Emily could meet her dog, Baxter for the first time!

We had a really fun and busy weekend!  Here are her 1 month pictures...notice how snug her 0-3 month onsies are, guess we'll store those away now too!  Stay tuned for more as we watch our sweet baby girl grow big and strong!

Mother's Day Weekend

We had such a great Mother's Day Weekend!  My sister and her boyfriend came to visit on Friday night from Washington, DC.  We actually got up on Saturday morning and took Emily with us to eat at Blaine's favorite breakfast joint, The Villager. She slept the whole time and did great!

see she knows to use her fork and spoon :)

On Saturday afternoon we were able to get out of the house again and take a stroll downtown Southern Pines and explore the cute shops they have to offer.  My dad and Blaine walked Emily up and down the street while us girls shopped. 

It was really nice to spend time with everyone and to have help holding Emily since that's what she likes best.    


One of the most special parts of the weekend was taking Emily to church for her baby dedication service.  I was very nervous to take her and this was the first time we'd been since she was born.  It took careful timing to have her fed and dressed but thanks to my army of help we pulled it off.  We must think she's a little baby doll b/c we couldn't wait to get her dressed for her debut.  Here's what she wore:

This Fellman Brothers dress my mom bought her complete with a bow!

Always the fashionista, these sweet little "toe blooms" completed her outfit!
Oh yeah and of course she had on ruffled bloomers!

We are so thankful that along with my family that Blaine's parents and sister were there as well as Emily's Great Grandaddy and Clareese.  It was very special to have everyone there.  There were 5 other babies also being dedicated that day.  Three of them were our friends Laura and Ches's baby girl twins and Mike and Marsha's baby girl that were all born on the same day a week and 1 day earlier than Emily.  We've had to ask for extra help in the nursery on Sunday's b/c of all the new babies!  Our families and church are so blessed to be able to dedicate these precious babies.  

After church Blaine's parents were very gracious to have everyone over to their home for lunch.  We had a great time visiting with each other.  Thanks so much for having us!  

This is such a good picture of my mom and Emily that I have to share it again. I can't believe how much she looks like a little baby doll!

Such a special Mother's Day weekend! Emily is our gift from God and she is so special to us, we just love her so much.  We're grateful for our mothers every day but now that i'm a mommy it was just a little sweeter.  Happy mother's day to all the baby mama's!

Visiting Daddy at work



I took Emily to visit her daddy, grandpa and aunt Kelli at work this week and to meet Becky and Stephennie. She did really good!

Emily and Grandpa Riney



Emily and Daddy



We also went to vote on Tuesday!  She's republican in case you're wondering :)

It was a fun trip and one of our first out with just the two of us. I'm getting more comfortable taking her out by myself. The most nerve racking part is that we're not on a schedule so i never know when we can leave or when she'll want to eat.  She's pretty much on a 2 1/2-3 hour feeding schedule but its not consistently at the same time from day to day.  :(





On Wednesday we met my friend Carrie and her newborn daughter (and Emily's BFF), Clare at Panera for a little date to get the mommies out of the house. It was great until the ride home when she was screaming at me out of hunger. I couldn't get home fast enough and of course hit every red light in town!  But we survived and will venture out again on some errands, timing them just right of course.  She likes to ride in the car though, so that's good.  And we have plans to meet up with Carrie and Clare every week to hang out. :)  We'll keep venturing out and getting more comfortable.

A day in the life of Emily

So I'm not very good at keeping this up unfortunately :( I promise to do better, but when you have a newborn in your arms all day its sort of hard to type. I'll catch you up on what we've been doing lately. 

A day in the life of Emily is pretty good.  Mostly sleeping, changing diapers and eating. We usually get out for a walk in the BOB if its not too hot.  We'll sit out on the back porch in the evenings too sometimes when its nice.

Emily has been spending lots of time on her play mat and she seems to enjoy it. We've even managed some tummy time!  Usually after she eats we need to spend some awake time before going back to sleep (according to the book anyway) and this is a good way to get that done.

She also spends some time in her swing. She'll only tolerate it for a little while.  My friend Amber visited the other day and said that her daughter had the same swing. She showed me some cool features on it so that we can move it to face outside, the TV or us having dinner (which is always quick and usually not together).  It was an ah-ha! moment, this stuff should come with an instructor! I think she likes facing outside best where she can see the trees against the sky.

We haven't brought out the bouncy seat just yet, we're saving that trick :)  And there are other toys for her to be entertained by although right now she really just like watching her friend "Fanny"-the ceiling fan in our living room. Pretty much anything that is dark on a light background she likes since i think that's all she can see.



Her Daddy likes to take her outside to check out the yard every evening when he gets home. He thought she needed to wear her sunglasses though since it was so bright out. They walk around bouncing and making sure everything is growing like it's supposed to.  Seriously, they do this everyday.

 Over the weekend Emily had her first trip to Wal-Mart. We were in and out in 20 minutes, i couldn't believe it. I just needed to pick up some parts for the breast pump so that i could start pumping some milk to give her a bottle with at night. More on that later :)  Kelli and our friend Lauren came by on Sunday for a visit and then to get out of the house we went over to her Grandpa and Grandma Riney's to watch the golf tournament. 

Its a pretty good life if you ask me!

2 weeks old today

Happy 2 week birthday to Emily!  We think she's just the cutest thing so here are some pictures from her first couple of weeks and what we've been up to. As you can see she mostly sleeps but has been increasingly alert as she's grown.  She's even starting to smile a little and not just when she's milk drunk (which is my favorite face).  Yesterday we had her 2 week doctor's appointment to check her weight and progress so far. I must be feeding her chocolate milk when she nurses b/c she weighed 6lbs 8oz the Monday after she was born (typical to lose 10% of her birth weight) and yesterday she had not only gained back to her birth weight but even added some. She weighs a whopping 7lbs 10oz now! I was thrilled b/c I had been worried about the whole nursing thing.  She got a good bill of health-praise God!  She's a good baby and just gets a little fussy in the evenings.  Some nights she'll sleep well, other not so much. We're still working on figuring out a schedule but we're doing well :) 

Emily with her Great Grandaddy (my grandaddy)

Emily and GiGi (my mom)

Emily and Grandpa Riney (Blaine's dad)

Sleep has been precious around here so we snooze when we can :) Blaine is so good at swaddling and soothing her!  He sings songs that he's made up and helps keep her calm.

This sticker says "just born" but you can't see it. Hopefully we'll remember to take a picture each month showing how much she's grown. Don't you just love the lady like pose and hair bow!

This is what she spends most of her time doing...sleeping!

This just melts my heart, such a good daddy; my cup runneth over!

Big yawn in her cute purple pj's

she's a little more alert here in this super cute outfit

We take strolls around the neighborhood in the BOB-she does really good and likes to rest her hand on the safety strap.  Its getting really hot though so we have to walk early in the morning or in the evenings. So far we haven't made it in the mornings b/c we've been napping!

so sweet

Emily does really good in the car too, usually sleeping but here she's just taking in the scenery. We still haven't ventured out with just the two of us-maybe today (YIKES!)

She's even pretty entertained by her play mat/gym thingy.  We haven't really done tummy time though, she doesn't like it :)

Here she is in her swing that her Papa G (my dad) put together!

She doesn't really like this outfit i think but i thought it was pretty cute. Not sure if yellow is her color though :)

This is just before we went to the doctor yesterday.

Such a big girl playing on her mat!